Congratulations to the Class winners of the 2023 IBD British Hop Awards!

The overall Champion Hop of 2023 is Harlequin, grown by Hawkins Farming.

‘We grow a range of varieties, some traditional; Goldings for example dates back to the 1790’s, through to our latest projects; Jester, Olicana & Harlequin with their citrus flavours.  We have many trial plots on the farms, testing and developing new and exciting future varieties as part of the Charles Faram breeding programme.

Hop flowers are known as cones and their flavouring and preservative properties differ with each variety. They also differ according to where they are grown, much like grapes, so the French term ‘terroir’ is also highly relevant for hops.

Their soft resin cores are a smorgasbord of complex acids that not only preserve and flavour alcoholic drinks, but have a range of medicinal qualities, mentioned not only in folklore, but in modern day scientific study. Their potential has yet to be fully realised.’

We’re stoked to be hosting the awards ceremony at Renegade and to add to the celebration we’ve created a cask beer with the winning home grown hop, aptly named ‘Harlequin’

‘As a brewer and lover of cask beer, it was a great honour to be asked to brew a beer with this years Champion Hop. Using the finest Maris Otter, Wheat and Caragold I have tried to create a light and sweet bassline for the hop to riff over. I made multiple additions to the kettle during the boil and whirlpool to really maximise the hop character, and then finished the brew off with a light dry hop of 1.5g/L to add a few top notes.’ – Renegade Head Brewer, Will Twomey

Harlequin is moderately bitter and sweet in equal quantities, this fragrant beer will present notes of peach and pineapple with a tropically fruity flavour and a long, clean finish.

Enjoy a unique cask of beer brewed with this hop exclusively at Renegade Taproom. Available on completion of our Taproom refurb, follow us on socials to stay updated or join our Beer Club to be one of the first to find out.